Parties May See Metal Detectors

By Nicole A. SherryStaff Reporter

The Campus Police is considering a policy that would require certain
on-campus student parties and dances to use metal detectors to screen
people entering the event, according to Chief of Campus Police Anne P.
Glavin.

Student reaction to the idea is largely negative. Many students at
dormitories and independent living groups say that the program is
unnecessary and would be a waste of money.

The Campus Police is working on the proposal with the Residence and
Campus Activities office and the Campus Activities Complex office. Because
the policy is still in its planning stages, the date at which it will be
implemented has not been set yet, Glavin said. Also, the Campus Police has
to determine how many detectors to purchase, she said.

It is possible that the program could become voluntary rather than
mandatory, said Hans C. Godfrey '93, Undergraduate Association
president.

The proposal calls for mandatory use of metal detectors at campus
parties and dances where organizers or the Campus Police believe that over
250 people will attend, parties that are open to non-MIT students, parties
at which alcohol will be served, or parties with a live band. Metal
detectors could also be required for other events at the discretion of the
chief of Campus Police, according to the draft proposal.

These events would also require a Campus Police officer to be present at
the group's expense. The officers would train the event organizers to
operate the machines, according to the proposal.

Event organizers can also request to have metal detectors if their
parties do not fit the criteria, and organizers for events that do fit the
criteria can request an exemption from the policy, according to the
proposal.

Independent living groups could also ask for use of the metal detectors,
Glavin said. The difficulty may arise when many functions occur
simultaneously, and the Campus Police cannot accommodate all the requests,
she said.

Past cases prompted proposal

Glavin initiated the metal detector proposal, and her concern stemmed
from violent actions that have occurred at MIT in the past, such as the
stabbing at Delta Kappa Epsilon in 1992 and the stabbing at a party in the
Student Center in 1991.

"Today, unfortunately, people are carrying weapons more often and
resorting to them for settling disputes all too quickly," Glavin said.

Glavin said she is not aware of other universities in the immediate
Boston area which offer this type of service, except during special
occasions. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst does use metal
detectors to screen party-goers, she said, and Northeastern University
occasionally uses them.

Currently a committee which includes representatives from the Campus
Police, RCA, CAC, the Dormitory Council, the UA, the Graduate Student
Council, and the Interfraternity Council are gathering student input and
revising the proposal, Godfrey said.

Program may be unnecessary

In general, students said that mandatory use of metal detectors at
parties would not be effective. Social chairs at MacGregor House, Burton
House, DKE, Delta Tau Delta, and Phi Sigma Kappa were interviewed last
night, and all said that the program is unnecessary.

"I think that if Campus Police were made more available and cheaper,
that would be more effective," said Robert C. Rosenfeld '94, head social
chair at DKE. "This is overkill. Even if someone had a knife, there would
be no way we could take it off him. It would be more likely to start
something," he said.

"This may be an naive point of view for me to have, but I don't think
that we would attract the type of people that would carry handguns," said
Esther S. Dutton '96, co-social chair at MacGregor. "If I had the decision,
I would put money into Safe Ride or having actual human beings there to
protect students," she added.

Other students also disagree with the proposal.

"I think that it is a waste of money because they're trying to address a
problem that doesn't exist," said Alan A. Duros '94. "They should put their
efforts to more immediate concerns such as the failing food service
situation in dorms," he said.

Though the current proposal calls for requiring metal detectors at
on-campus student parties and dances, "it may be more appropriate for a
fraternity party environment if at all," Duros said.

"It's a waste of money," said Eleni C. Digenis '94. "Parties are
restricted to MIT or college students. They're not open to random people
off the street," she said. "There's a whole bunch of things that would set
[a metal detector] off so people would end up turning it off or going
around it," she added.

The committee is considering a reform in the alcohol policy to accompany
the proposal requiring metal detectors, Godfrey said.